The Biggest Loser
by Lieutenant Tazer
Summary: High School AU. Steve is the scrawny runt and Tony is the pudgy nerdy kid who both constantly get picked on for their less than perfect bodies. The summer of their senior year, they make a pact to get healthy and try out for the football team in the Fall to rub it in the faces of their tormentors that even imperfections can make it in the real world. StevexTony
1. Chapter 1

The Biggest Loser

Chapter 1: Mocking Me for My Looks

Leaning over the sink in the boy's bathroom, Steven Rogers spit the growing puddle of blood from his mouth and watched it with fascination as it washed down the drain from the running water. Looking up into the mirror before him, he took in his beaten and bloodied appearance with a disgusted look on his face not because of the black eye or the bloodied lip but for how narrow his face was, how scrawny his shoulders looked in his size small white undershirt, and just in general how _small_ he really was. He was a junior for crying out loud and he just got the biggest beat down on the last day of school from a freshman who looked like a forty year old man! Steve just turned eighteen and he still looked like he was ten years old. If he thought about it for too long, Steve was positive the gods—in any religion—were mocking him because no matter how hard he prayed—because that was the Christian thing to do—and no matter what he did he just couldn't get his scrawny body to bulk out like his other classmates.

As a young child, Steve was diagnosed with Asthma therefore making it difficult for his low income family to pay for both sports like football, basketball, and baseball when they had to worry about paying for doctor's visits and prescription inhalers for their son as his condition only seemed to worsen with age. When the blonde was in the sixth grade, he would consider it to be a good day if he could walk to school without needing to take a puff, or two, or three, or four from his inhaler. Now as a junior in high school, well technically a senior now as the school day was over and summer officially began, Steve liked to think he had his condition under control but every once in a while his bronchial tubes would get irritated and force the student to take a puff from his inhaler.

Spitting into the sink once again, Steve made sure that the red discoloration had washed down the drain before turning off the running water and leaning on his palms, taking multiple steady breaths to calm himself down. Closing his eyes against the throbbing pain in his shoulders and head he took a calming breath in and held it in his chest for a long moment before releasing the molecules back into the air and feeling more refreshed than the water felt after he had splashed it on his face when he first came into the bathroom. Startled as the bathroom door swung open, Steve jumped slightly thinking his tormentors had found him and was ready for round two. Relaxing a bit at the sight of another tattered and torn student, Steve frowned when he realized the chubby little guy was having it just as rough as he was.

He recognized him as the school's genius, Tony Stark. They were in the same grade since Tony was bumped up three grades because of how smart he was. It was true that he could have been a college student with how smart he was, but his mother made sure to keep him with high school students his own age rather than showboating him about some university. Steve admired Mrs. Stark for that, knowing mostly that she wasn't ready to let her son go because his mom was just the same. There was a rumor that flooded the school when Tony started his sophomore year that he was actually a girl and was raped over the summer and was now pregnant. That was why many of the guys on the football team teased and taunted him with the nickname of Tanya. Everyone forgot that before school let out the previous spring that Tony had come into school with a broken leg. Steve assumed the doctors had given him steroids as a part of his recovery because of all the weight the boy had gained. But Steve understood his pain because even though they looked nothing alike—Steve his scrawny self and Tony at the unhealthy weight of over two hundred pounds—but the torment they went through on a daily basis was something they could both identify with.

Tony slumped against the ground, making a soft thud as his bottom hit the tiles, and held his head in his hands. Taking pity on the junior—soon to be senior—Steve pulled a few paper towels from the dispenser and ran it under the cold water in the sink. Once saturated and chilled to the touch, Steve carefully stepped over to his fellow classmate and pulled the boys hands away from his bloodied face. "Here, this might help." Lifting the dark haired teens face by his chin, Steve starred into the mocha colored eyes as he gently went to dab the chilled towel to the swelling just above Tony's right eye.

He hissed and jerked away before Steve's hands followed and resumed the gentle touch, something he was familiar with as his mother did this motion constantly with himself. "You don't have to baby me." Tony slurred as his eyes darted into the corner of the bathroom to stare at the blue paint on the walls.

Steve bit his bottom lip, wondering why he was actually being nice to the school nerd. Maybe it was because they were both classified as weak and they could understand the other's pain, but it didn't really matter as Steve had never done this for anyone else before. "Stop moving so much," Steve snapped irritably.

Tony huffed in annoyance and allowed himself to be babied by this stranger for a few more moments before he jerked away and stood up. Moving over to the sink, he leaned over it and emptied the blood from his mouth into the drain. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Tony glanced over his shoulder with a cold stare fixed on Steve. "What, you want to bash my head in too? Wait till August, I feel like I have a concussion." Touching his forehead to the cool ceramic of the sink by bending forward, Steve quickly moved to catch the falling junior. Struggling to support the teen's weight, Steve awkwardly maneuvered them around until Tony was leaning against the wall again.

"You don't look so good." Steve stated flatly, eyeing the student carefully and watching Tony's eyes droop. "I'll be right back; I'm going to go get a teacher."

Tony tried to protest, holding his hand up to catch Steve's pants in his fingers but missed as his muscles were too weak to hold onto the fast moving blonde. He'd had classes with Steve a few times before, most of them his literature and fine arts classes that he absolutely hated taking, and could hardly remember a time where the two spoke more than three words to each other. Why Steve was being so nice to him was beyond Tony's concussed reasoning, but he was grateful when a few moments later Steve and the school's P.E. teacher rushed in to asses Tony's slowly reclining condition.

"Tony! What happened, Steve?"

Everything was a blur of flashing lights and loud sirens. He wasn't sure why he followed Tony in the medical unit and to the hospital, but he did and now he found himself waiting impatiently besides the barely conscious teen waiting for the results of his MRI. The ER staff had given the dark haired braincase two Vicodin tablets for the pain and Steve found himself shocked that ten minutes later Tony was still whimpering from the pulsating pain in his head. He tried to reason to himself that the reason he'd followed was because he wanted to make sure his classmate was going to be okay, and that his mother wouldn't expect him home for another few hours when she returned from her shift at the hospital, but he couldn't really call Tony a friend as they hardly interacted at school but yet he found himself bending over backwards for the pudgy teen. Steve released an aggravated sigh.

"Steve, what are you doing here?" His cobalt eyes quickly darted to the entry way only to spot his seemingly upset mother. He should have expected that she would find him. Quickly crossing the small observation room to pull her son's chin up so she could inspect the damage on his face, she slowly uncurled her fingers and crossed her arms over her chest. Giving her teenage a firm look her bright blue eyes glared daggers into her son's soul. "What happened?"

"I got into another fight." Steve darted his eyes and let them settle anywhere besides the hurt look on his mothers face.

"Are those children still picking on you, baby?"

"I can handle it, momma—"

"—clearly you can't! Look at yourself, Steven, you look like you went ten rounds with a semi-truck!" Steve laughed to himself as the freshman who had done the damage could easily be mistaken for a Mac Truck.

"I feel like I did too." He replied offhandedly, suddenly wishing he hadn't.

"So this is a joke to you now?" Dropping her head into the palm of her hand, the RN took a step back and quickly shook off her son's discourteous reply. "I'll go talk to the doctor about your friend here as well as make arrangements for the two of you to get home safely, seeing as how we can't get a hold of Mr. Stark's parents."

Tony had drifted off into a state of unconsciousness during their argument, leaving the two hotheaded blondes to dispute amongst themselves. Watching his mother jot down Tony's vitals from the machines monitor's display, he couldn't help but notice that the teen's blood-pressure was elevated. He'd remembered reading something somewhere that overweight people often had a lot of health problems that could be directly correlated with their weight issues and high blood-pressure was one of those issues. While Steve couldn't gloat and say that his vitals were perfect, he knew his health issues weren't caused by the extra fat in his body.

A few hours later, Steve found himself in the front seat of his truck with Tony in the passenger's seat looking very out of it. The ER staff couldn't get in touch with Tony's parents, forcing them to leave multiple messages that they would be releasing Tony into the care of a school friend who would be taking him home for some much needed rest. There was no bleed, thank goodness for that, but the doctor did say Tony had a concussive syndrome and left him with strict orders to be on brain rest for the next several days. "It's just up here on the left."

"I'm sorry your parents never called to check on you." Steve wasn't sure what was spewing from his mouth anymore. About a few hours ago he gave up censoring the garbage that spewed forth. "My mom said you're more than welcome to stay at our house until we can reach your parents. You really shouldn't be alone right now Tony."

"I'll be fine; I have Jarvis to look after me at home. If he thinks something's wrong, he can call 9-1-1 for me and have me shipped back to the ER in a matter of moments." Tony had his head rested against the cool frame of Steve's truck. His back slightly turned, so Steve couldn't tell if the younger was joking or not.

"Is Jarvis your family butler or something?" Steve wondered why some laundry detergent smelling old man couldn't be bothered from his management tasks to pick up Tony from the ER.

Tony laughed hollowly. "Nah, he's an AI system I created." Pulling his phone from his pocket, Tony handed it to Steve once they pulled into the driveway. "Just tell him to open the gate and let us in."

Handling the nifty device with extra care, as Steve was positive something that looked this high tech wasn't immediately available to the media the blonde looked at the phone as if it would bite him if he said a word. "I don't understand, Tony."

Snatching back his tech, Tony spoke to it as he started to slip the device back into his school pants pocket. "Jarvis, open the gates for us."

Suddenly, the security gates started to part allowing Steve's truck to pass through and make the short drive up the driveway towards the main garage that was connected to the large Stark home. "Your house is huge."

Tony just shrugged. "I'm just used to it I guess. Thanks for the ride, Steve, if you want to follow me inside I can compensate you for your troubles today or I could just mail it to you. You decide as my bed is calling my name." Pushing the truck door open, Steve quickly hopped out and made his way over to the passenger's side to catch an unstable Tony as he fell from the truck cabin.

Shaking his head at Tony's abrasive actions, he helped the teen make his way into the house and towards a bedroom at the top of the stairs and to the right that Steve could only hope was Tony's. The whole way the dark haired boy gripped loudly that he could do it on his own, and that he didn't need a wimp like Steve assisting him but the blonde knew better; they needed each other to survive their messed up likes in high school. Whether Steve wanted to admit it or not, he couldn't deny the growing soft spot for the arrogant nerd that was now lying peacefully on his bed, snuggled in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt under the blankets. He debated with himself for a long moment whether or not to leave or stay, but after running the scolding his momma would give him over in his head he made himself comfortable on the floor with a few additional blankets and a pillow before allowing sleep to overcome his tired body. They could sort everything else out in the morning.

xXxXx

A/N: So, this idea has been rattling around inside my head for a while and I've finally gotten around to jotting it down on paper and creating a chapter about of it all. Let me know what you guys think, I love reading everyone's reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

The Biggest Loser

Chapter 2: The Usual Teen Stuff

The first morning Steve slowly blinked his eyes into a wakeful state, he had no idea he would be crashing at his classmate's house for the next several days. The first day, Tony did nothing but sleep and according to his mom it was normal for a concussion patient to be exhausted. Seeing how his doctor put him on brain-rest, Steve seemed to agree with her and took to monitoring Tony and watching many rerun's of the Fairly Odd Parents on the Stark's Nexflix connection. The second and third day's were mostly the same, Tony sleeping in his room and Steve lounging on the couch watching TV while occasionally taking meals into the teen. The fourth day, Tony joined the blonde in a comfortable silence for some relaxation on the couch and then finally on the fifth day the teen found himself awake enough to play a few rounds of Halo.

Steve quickly learned the layout of the Stark home, just by trial and error. Well mostly error as when he needed to use the bathroom, the blonde was pretty sure he found every other room possible in the large home that seemed too big for the family of three. When it came to operating the tablet-remote the Starks had set up in their living room, something Steve had never really had the pleasure of using before, the blonde just starting pushing buttons watching in awe as the pot lights in the vaulted ceiling would dim, or the shades over the large bay windows out looking the large backyard would drop and rise, the surround sound system turning on, and even the temperature gage getting activated. None of the functions he figured out how to operate were the ones he was looking for, but he had to admit that maybe later on—if he stayed—learning how to close the shades or something could be useful. After another hour of running the pads of his fingers over the high definition screen, Steve finally figured out how to operate the TV. Though Steve would never admit it to the school tech nerd, Steve had a feeling that most kids from their school couldn't even figure out how to work the remote making the blonde wonder how Tony's parents themselves could even operate the thing.

It was a nice change of pace to have Tony curled up on the other end of the couch in a pair of athletic pants and an oversized T-shirt. In the morning, Tony's eyes would droop sending him to the throes of snoozing for most of the afternoon to wake up to a few rounds on the Xbox. Steve lay curled with his legs tucked under his small frame, leaning heavily on the arm rest and cradling the black controller in his hands while jamming his fingers roughly into the brightly colored buttons and maneuvering the joystick with annoyance as his character wasn't particularly doing well on the screen. Tony laughed quietly from his end of the expensive couch before offering assistance to the blonde's character.

"Thanks for staying Steve, but I think I'm well enough so you can start your summer vacation and not have to babysit the school nerd." Tony adjusted his grip on his Xbox controller before jamming his finger into the red button, preparing to assist Steve in a strike against the computerized enemy leaving Tony to wonder just how much of an actual video-gamer Steve was as he… well… to put it in honest terms, he sucked.

"Don't worry about it. Believe it or not I'm actually having fun and this is pretty much what'd I'd be doing at home anyways. No worries here, Stark." Steve's avatar jumped out of the way and took a crouching position to pop off a few firing shots into their enemy. Judging by Steve's playing abilities, Tony highly doubted that he would be home playing video games all afternoon into the late hours of the night.

"Feel free to stay as long as you like. I'm sure my parents will be back at some point this summer from their extended stay in… I think they went to Aruba. I don't remember, but they usually leave the last week of school and don't return until sometime after the fourth of July." Tony explained offhandedly, clearly used to his parent's odd behaviors or just up and leaving their child home alone. The fact that he was so calm about it was unnerving to Steve.

Steve glanced at the younger teen out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. As much as he'd like his mom to leave him alone, much like most teenagers, he couldn't imagine her just up and leaving him with no clue as to where her whereabouts were or let alone any way to contact her. Not to mention he would be more than a little miffed if she up and left on a vacation without him. "Awesome, we'll have fun this summer then. What do you like to do, other than play videogames?" Another thing that put Steve off was that even after multiple phone calls to their personal cell phones from his mother, himself, and the hospital staff they didn't once return a call to see how their son was doing in his post hospitalized state. That was irresponsible of them!

"The usual teenage stuff, I guess. Sleep all day, stay up all night, work on my Stark tech, lay out in the pool out back some, get into trouble, disappoint my parents—I'm really good at those last two." By the smile on the younger's face, Steve had to wonder what mischievous activities the brunette had taken part in. There was roughly three years difference in their age, but Steve had to wonder if Tony had somehow found a way to rob a bank, steal a car, or vandalize someone's property since he didn't seem like the type to partake in drugs, rape, or murder. "How about you, Steve?" Though by the look on his face, Steve had to wonder if it was just getting in trouble with his parents and not the law like he originally thought that made Tony such a deviant.

The game had been paused, muting the sound coming from the TV making every thought in his head seem that much louder. "Not much," he admitted shyly. "My asthma pretty much keeps me rooted from doing anything I'd like to do, but with this new medication my doctors—Shit!"

"What's the matter?" Tony cocked his head to the side in confusion, wondering what suddenly crawled up Steve's ass.

"My inhaler and medications are still at the school in my locker." Dropping his head into his hands, Steve let out a low groan. "I'm supposed to take the one before bed every day." His mother was going to maim him when she found out about this.

"Well, let's go get it then. I left my stuff in my locker too, and I'd really like to get my tablet before some jock finds it and tries to use it as a Frisbee." Steve forced a smile at the _dumb-jock_ joke, but inwardly cringed as he really wanted to be a part of the football team. Something his father had always hoped to see his son doing before he died.

"Okay, I'll drive." Moving to stand, Steve moved to grab his keys off the island in the kitchen while slipping into a pair of sneakers his mom had dropped off, along with a few other articles of clothing. Steve was thankful for that as after wearing his school uniform for two days straight he was relieved to be able to take a shower and change into something more appropriate for lounging on the couch. Smoothing his hands down his black athletic shorts, the blonde frowned at how thin his body was. He'd been on this new medication for a while now, and his asthmatic symptoms had started to wither away to pretty much nothing it seemed making him rethink his idea of trying to bulk up over the summer. He could start lifting weights and running like the other boys in his class did on a daily basis.

With Tony dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt, the two hopped into Steve's truck. Buckling his seatbelt, Steve looked over to Tony who had his eyes trained out the window. Revving the Ford engine to life, Steve maneuvered his dark blue truck into gear making his way down the finely paved driveway that led towards the street. Looking at the surrounding houses, Steve had to wonder who else from school lived so close to Tony as most people he knew could barely afford a new cell phone on their lowly minimum wage afterschool jobs. Steve was lucky enough to have gotten his father's truck, but he still had to work to afford insurance and gas for it.

The ride was relatively quiet, save for the soft country music playing from the radio driving Tony absolutely insane with the hideous twang of the singer's voice. He tried drowning out the male's voice by rolling down the window and pressing his face closer to the door to hear nothing but the breeze. But even that didn't drown out the voice of Luke Bryan—as the radio announcer said before a new song started playing. Reaching out, loosely grasping the dial, Tony turned it to something a little more bearable and settled back against his seat; the feeling of nails on a chalkboard dissipating from the surface of his skin.

Steve cringed slightly at the station selection. "Not a country fan?"

"How can you listen to that… that… that atrocity? I feel like my ears a bleeding from listening to how the guys tractor ran over his dog and his woman left him for her brother." Rubbing his ears as if the music selection was physically painful, Tony offered a small smirk towards Steve.

"I don't think I've heard a country song like that, and I highly doubt considering it to be atrocious, but to each his own I guess. My dad listened to it all the time." Running a tired hand through his blonde hair, Steve made a turn into the main driveway of their high school.

"Listened? What does he listen to now?" Tony watched carefully from the passenger's seat as Steve's face when from a small smile to the slight tug of a frown disgracing his features.

"He died a few years ago. Our terrible family genetics finally caught up with him, and now he's gone." Tony hadn't known Steve too well before, but hearing the icy, haunting tone in the teen's voice wasn't something that he welcomed freely. Steve's nature appeared to be calm, assertive when need be, and reserved. Not depressed.

"Sorry, didn't know." Reaching forward, Tony turned the radio station back to the country station the blonde had set on the dial. Cringing as another country song infiltrated his hearing, the teen curled his fingers into a fist, digging his nails into his palm giving his mind something to focus on other than the hideous music. Tony could relate, as his taste in music came from his grandfather who was the one who took him to his first AC/DC concert when he was only six. At least his kind of music was decent! Settling back in his seat, Tony dug his nails deeper into his palms wondering how he befriended the hick in the first place as it was growing quickly apparent that they didn't have much in common.

"Here we are," Steve said smoothly. His truck came to a stop in a spot in the student parking lot a few slots down from an expensive looking Mustang. "That yours?" Steve just had a sinking feeling that it belonged to Tony, seeing as how he highly doubted the teen road the big yellow buss to school.

"Yup!" Holding the keys up, Tony smirked at his new friends eye roll. It was usually something most people did when they learned a kid, who barely had a learners permit, was driving a brand new Ford, Mustang. Sliding out of the high seat in Steve's truck, Tony walked up to the candy red sports car with a tactical expression taking in every nonexistent scrape, dent, or smudge.

Watching from behind, Steve smiled as he watched Tony glove his finger with the fabric of his shirt before wiping away a smudge mark outlining the door to the shiny car. "Come on, I don't want to miss the delivery guy." Ushering the smaller teen by forcing his shoulder, Steve pushed the student entrance doors open before making a quick beeline towards his locker. Spinning the combination on his black lock faster than he had before, the blonde reached into his backpack and pulled out a prescription bottle. Removing one pill from the container, he quickly popped it into his mouth and swallowed while his other hand sought out his inhaler. Feeling relieved at having both medications back in his possession, the blonde breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Tony waited in patient silence as Steve pulled a few things from his locker and packed them neatly away in his large backpack. Tucking his uniform jacket under his arm and slinging his bag over his shoulder, Tony had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as the weight of the bag pulled on Steve's center balance. Reaching a hand out to steady the twig-like teen, Tony winked at him before moving down the hall towards his locker.

Spinning the combination to the lock, Tony reached up to open the door when a pile of papers flew from within the confines of his locker. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Tony just threw out the rest of the unwanted papers before grabbing for his pack. Ignoring the white sheets that littered the hall floor, the teen knelt down on one knee to thoroughly search his bag, looking for his modified Stark tablet. "It's not here!"

Curious as to what was printed on the sheets, Steve reached out to grab the last one stuck between a few books in the teen's locker. Frowning at the image, the blonde had to wonder how Tony wasn't affected by the picture. Printed was a picture of a sumo-wrestler's body cropped with Tony's head on top. In the background the wrestler was standing in what looked to be a fast-food kitchen with the letters reading "Hi, I'm Fatty McFatfat". Just looking at the picture was aggravating to Steve. "Tony did you see this?" Holding the sheet out to the teen that was still searching, Steve had to wonder if this was the first time something like this happened judging by the way Tony was acting. "Tony."

"This happens all the time, it's not like I—wow, at least their photoshop work has gotten better. Once they stapled two pictures together because they couldn't operate the system on the computer. I find them kind of funny now. Where is that tablet?" Sitting on the dirty floor, Tony went to ripping open every zipper on his bag, desperate to find his tech.

Rolling his eyes, knowing that deep down seeing the photo's had to have hurt but he wasn't going to push the subject as Tony seemed more occupied by searching for his device. Looking back into Tony's locker to grab the teen's school jacket, a black piece of material caught his eyes. Adjusting the items in his arms, the blonde reached in to pull it into the light. A knowing smile crossed the blondes features. "Hey Tony."

"Steve, I've already seen the picture I don't—"

"Tony, would you look up already?" Pushing the black object just under the teen's nose, Steve waited for the realization to strike the teen's already battered head. Maybe the concussion jarred him for than Steve thought. The brunette starred for a moment, blinking unbelievingly, when his hands shot up to quickly take his tech from the other teen's grip. "It was in your locker, dolt."

Tony laughed silently. "Thanks, Steve," the teen said as he slowly stood. Zipping a few zippers and placing a few books into the main compartment of the bag, Tony took his jacket from Steve before cradling his tablet against his chest and locking his locker tight. "Let's head back to the house, I'm starting to get hungry."

"I'd imagine as you hardly ate anything today." Passing through the double doors once again, a loud chirp of a whistle drew both boys' attention to the back fields where the schools' football players were out running pre-tryout drills. Steve watched with fascination as the teens ran hard across the field in what Steve assumed was a suicide run. Tony however didn't seem all that much interested, seeing as how most of the teens running usually verbally abused the teen on a daily basis. "Have you ever played school sports?"

Tony moved to place his things in the passenger's seat of his Mustang. Looking at Steve with a weird expression, he shook his head. "Nope, I used to play little league soccer but that's it."

"Were you any good?"

"Our team got a few trophies; I think I have a medal up in my room somewhere too, so I guess we were okay. It was a traveling team, and we traveled all over New York to play other teams across the state. Sitting in a smelly buss, crammed with a bunch of sweaty other boys was not my idea of fun." Leaning against the driver-side door, Tony adjusted a pair of dark sunglasses he pulled from the glove compartment over the bridge of his nose before narrowing his calculating eyes at the jocks running across the field.

"Sounds like you were good then. I've always wanted to play sports—"

"What's stopping you?" Tony snapped, already not liking the direction this conversation was taking. "If you want to do something, you have two strong legs so get up and use them." He didn't mean to sound as brash as the words came out as, but after his Grandfather lost both his legs and still found it within himself to make every single one of Tony's games he lost all tolerance for people who complained about how they _couldn't do something_. "Sorry."

"No, you're right. Hey, we should try out for the team in August!"

"You're kidding, right?"

"No! You and I could work out all summer to get in shape." Steve enthusiasm wasn't as contagious as he had hoped, but he could see Tony arguing internally as to if and how he was going to entertain such thoughts of working out all summer.

"How did I get thrown into this? I don't even like football." Tony crossed his arms defensively over his chest, giving the blonde a pointed look from behind his shades. "Steve!" Tony squeaked as he was pulled by the taller male in an attempt to have him see things his way. He could already feel a concussion headache forming behind his eyes, deteriorating his will to argue back with Steve on how trying out for the football team was just as a bad idea as holding your breath for an extend period of time; after a while you would pass out. But even in your unconscious state, your body would start to breathe on it's own and maybe, just maybe this could be a good thing.

Maybe…

xXxXx

A/N Sorry it took so long! I got side tracked with State of Confusion, so if you're bored after this go read that. I guess… I don't know, do whatever you want, but please leave a review. I like to hear what my readers think and how I'm doing. I don't have a beta, so any mistakes anyone finds and points out would be greatly appreciated. I'll go fix them at some point. Also, the other Avengers will appear in here too with their own sorts of wacky personality defects and what not. There may be a few cameos from other Marvel series (i.e. X-men, Fantastic 4, etc…) but they would only be minor character and hardly a part of the actual story. Just a warning!


	3. Chapter 3

The Biggest Loser

Chapter 3: Huffing and Puffing

When Tony's alarm clock when off the following morning at o'dark hundred hour, he had the right mind to roll back over and go right back to sleep because he couldn't remember the last time, if ever, that he woke up as early as 0500 in the morning to meet someone at the national park for an early morning job around the park trails. He was to meet Steve there, as the blonde finally left his house to sleep in his own bed for a change instead of one of the Stark guest rooms, but that required a great deal of self motivation from the brunette as the thought of running was something he had been dreading the previous night as he and Steve planned out their workout routines. Tony hated to take the required physical education classes every semester as he was usually picked on for his lack of enthusiasm about wanting to lift weights, run in circles for the pure fact of just proving you could, or even getting his pudgy body to bend in the stretching positions. He was one of the fat kids in his grade, and over the last few years he had come to accept that he would always be a little heavier than most kids his age and did absolutely nothing about it because a) Tony Stark just didn't care all that much what others thought of him, b) he wasn't some school athlete and c) he liked how it pissed off his father. Glancing at his personalized phone, the teen groaned as he had wasted ten minutes just hyping himself up to just get out of bed, the hardest part had not even started yet.

The only good thing about doing this with Steve was that, like Tony, he was severely out of shape himself. Though his skin didn't tend to wiggle nearly as much as Tony's, even if at all, when he moved Steve was still scrawny as hell and looked lethargic some days. Though he had a medical reason for not keeping in the usual teen shape, where as Tony was the way he was just out of pure laziness, Tony couldn't help but think he was going to get his ass handed to him by the scrawny kid in his grade. It wasn't enough that the actual in shape kids got to pick on him, but once Steve realized that Tony wasn't even able to run a mile, he worried the blonde was going to taunt him just like everyone else. He was unsure why Steve's opinion of him suddenly mattered, as of a few days ago he couldn't give a rat's ass what the blonde thought of him, but it did matter now and he had no idea why. Tying his shoes, Tony quickly grabbed his keys and a water bottle before leaving his parents home and making the quick ten minute drive to the park parking lot.

Getting to the designed area just on time Tony noticed his blonde counterpart leaning against his truck with a happy-go-lucky smile plastered over his face. Shutting the engine off, Tony took a calming breath in the safety of his Mustang before looking down at himself and really seeing what everyone else saw: a fat kid. His grandfather wouldn't appreciate the way Tony was now focusing on his own body image, but the man wasn't around anymore to grouse about Tony's character defects. Pinching a section of his tummy pudge between his index finger and thumb, the youth sucked his bottom lip into his mouth thinking maybe he had let this go on for far too long. Craning his neck to see Steve already twisting his body in some form of static stretches, he took one more calming sigh and got out knowing Steve was waiting for him.

"Over sleep?" Steve quipped, feeling very assured of himself this morning as his chest wasn't feeling tight and he couldn't wait to start conditioning his body. "You should stretch before we start."

Tony rolled his eyes, still not quite as enthusiastic about this whole thing as Steve was but the blondes eagerness was rubbing off on him, helping the matter at hand slightly. "I already stretched at home," he lied with ease, just wanting this mile run to pass as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Taking Tony's words at face value, Steve pulled Tony by his arm over to the mouth of the path that they would be running. It was still fairly dark, the only light provided to the two boys coming from the overhead parking lights. Starring into the darkness of the woods, Tony felt his empty stomach do a somersault before feeling himself be pushed in by Steve. The first part of the path was an incline taking any joggers up through a helix that would empty out at the top of the hill that every child used to ride down in the winter on a sled. Tony's eyes were glued to the ground, focusing on just moving his feet forwards and not falling on his face. It seemed like a good idea as if you didn't have to look up and see how much farther you had to go, then it wouldn't be so bad. But when he looked up, Tony's heart sunk when he saw Steve's retreating back about fifty yards ahead. He was right; Steve was in better shape than he was.

Opening up his stride a little more, ignoring the clamping burn in his calves and thighs, Tony pressed forward in a meager attempt to catch up to the faster blonde. Maybe it was because he was so light that he was able to make it to the top of the hill faster? Coming out on top, just a few minutes after Steve had, Tony's eyes took in the downhill spiral that seemed unhealthily steep. The run was uncomfortable as every time he would hit a bump, his body would jostle making his chubby tummy jiggle and toss with the rest of him. Sweat had already started forming on every surface of his body, sticking his black T-shirt to his skin like glue and drawing his athletic pants closer to his legs, rubbing painfully with every step he took. Not wanting to think about the suffocating feeling his lungs were feeling, Tony forced down a large gulp of air to resupply his deprived body as trying to keep up with Steve's fast pace was murder.

His muscles burned in agony, screaming out in protest against the sudden exertion forced upon them by the rough terrain the path provided. Every available muscle in his body seemed to seize up, tightening like a vice, making the teen slow his erratic run. Thankful for the cover of the darkness and the privacy the woods provided, as he didn't want anyone to see him running and looking like a fool in his less than perfect running stance, Tony made sure to duck his head at an elderly woman who was out walking her dog. He knew he didn't know her, but he didn't want to take a chance at someone recognizing him and making a fuss that suddenly the fat kid was out in the park running. He tried this once before, just to prove to himself that he wasn't as fat as everyone said. But getting laughed at by passing teens as he jogged on the sidewalk in the late hours of the evening quickly deflated the brilliant students actions and surrendered him to the dark space of his room with his Xbox to comfort him. Chancing another glance up, just in time to duck under a tree branch, Tony's eyes zeroed in on Steve who appeared to be leaning against an old oak tree up ahead.

His initial thoughts were that Steve no longer needed Tony to tag along with him, that he was only slowing the blonde down but as he neared the tree and heard the gasping asthmatic sounds coming from the boys slightly blue lips, the teen quickly moved to assist the blonde with several puffs of his inhaler. The steroid infiltrated his system, calming his bronchial tubes and allowing him to breathe easier. Both were gasping for air, desperately trying to refill their bodies with oxygen molecules. Steve's finger pointed to a sign on an opposite tree with a sad expression. "This is only half way."

"At least we did—"

"I'm sorry I wimped out, Tony, but after that last bend I felt like I couldn't breathe."

Tony rolled his eyes, happy for the break in their morning run. "Your lips were blue, I think you deserve a break. Don't worry about it."

"But we decided that we would run a mile this week, and next week we'll start on two miles. We're building stamina Tony, remember?" The darker haired teen resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his new friend and instead opted to cross his arms over his chest. How could he forget what this was all about? It was all they—or rather Steve—discussed the night before, clearly excited for the torment the summer of their senior year was about to bring.

"Since both of us are so out of shape why don't we start at a half a mile this week? We can set time standards for increments and then graph it out back at my house to track our progress. I can make charts, graphs and flow tables." It was official; Tony just made exercising sound nerdy by introducing graphs and charts into their workouts. "Just think how bad it would suck if you pulled something. You could be out for a while if you pull your hamstring."

Steve pushed off from the tree finally after a long while of debating he looked to the shorter teen and shrugged, silently agreeing as his body was still adjusting to the returning oxygen to his body. "Maybe you're right."

"I usually am."

"That wasn't conceded at all." Steve stated sarcastically, pulling the heavier teen to his side by wrapping his arm around his shoulders and mussing his sweaty hair up with his other hand. Loudly protesting, Tony tried to push Steve away. "But I guess you get those bragging rights when you have the number one position by class academic standards."

"You know my class standing?" The question seemed foreign to him. Was Steve secretly a stalker?

"Who in our school doesn't know about your insane memory skills?"

"A photographic memory can come in handy, huh."

They made it back to Tony's house around seven. The hot summer sun had begun to ascend into its high position in the sky, warming up the atmosphere. It was going to be another hot one, and both teens were desperate to make it back to Tony's house to shed off their running gear, especially Tony as the pants he wore were beyond uncomfortable at this point, and into a pair of swim shorts. Steve looked even scrawnier in his dark trunks; his pale skin seemed to be illuminated by the sun, where as Tony held reserves about stepping out into the open of his back yard dressed in his black and red trunks. Steve already accepted him, but it was another thing for the older teen to see him with no shirt on. Hiding in his bedroom, debating on whether to step out with a towel draped around himself, nothing at all, or secured in the safety of an oversized tee Tony was at a loss as to what to do.

Joining Steve at the breakfast table, a bowl of hot oats and a cut banana sitting in his usual spot, Tony sat down without a word and started to force the healthy breakfast down his throat. Neither boy enjoyed the bland flavor of the oats, or the coating flavor the banana provided, but they ate in silence with a mutual understanding that what they were eating wasn't the usual sugary overload they were used to in the morning from their Captain Krunch or Fruity Pebbles. Pushing his bowl away, effectively losing his appetite against the bland flavor, Tony slumped in his chair. "If the work outs don't kill me, the food surely will."

"It's not that bad," Steve commented around a mouthful of the cooling oats. Swallowing back the lump, Steve too pushed his bowl away. "Okay, maybe it is."

Emptying their bowls into the trash can, and their dirty dishes into the dish washer, Steve lead the way out into the hot morning sun. A bright smile lit up his face as he jumped into the pool, the cool water lapping over his sweaty body. Tony moved to set out his towel on one of the expensive lawn chairs, his breakfast from earlier leaving an upset feeling in the pit of his stomach. How he got roped into this again was beyond him, but as long as Steve stuck with him through this he would endure the pain and suffering of the dreaded diet and the even more dreaded workouts that were coming in the following days. It was a good thing Steve's enthusiasm was so infections, otherwise Tony would have told him to shove it and be locked in his room playing video games.

xXxXx

A/N I don't know about the rest of you, but I personally think a self-conscious, pudgy Tony is actually kind of adorable. And then there's the scrawny Steve stringing him along, which Steve in Captain America: The First Avenger was adorable in his scrawny days. I'm trying to keep this story from taking a dark turn, as it's supposed to be a little dramatic but also light hearted and funny. I know the next chapter has me chuckling and I can't wait to start writing it. Again, thanks for all the amazing reviews everyone, it means a lot to hear your thoughts as the story develops.


	4. Chapter 4

The Biggest Loser

Chapter 4: Enlisted Help

Pushing Steve into the store with some effort, Tony growled in frustration at the blonde's hesitation to walk into the local GNC store. Figuring that if they were going to suffer through this, they were going to do this right and Tony believed that enlisting the help of the store clerk, Bruce Banner, was their next move. Steve, who refused to allow Tony to even think about spending that kind of money on him, loudly protested the whole ride and even when they made their way into the near empty store. They ran their half mile at the park this morning and even tried to eat the hot oats back at Tony's house, but Tony knew they needed something else in their diets to help sustain the sudden exertion on their bodies. "Wow, Tony, I never thought I'd see you in here." Bruce commented with a sly smile.

"Trust me, it's not by choice but I need your expertise on how to be healthy; we both do." Leaning heavily against the counter, Tony gestured to Steve who stood awkwardly behind him starring at Bruce with a slack jaw. "Steve this is Bruce, my anatomy and chemistry partner. Bruce, this is Steve."

The two teens nodded to each other, offering fourth a comment or two on pleasantries. "So what exactly are you two trying to do?" Adjusting his khaki pants against his trim waist, Bruce stuffed his hands deep into his pockets with a curious smile on his face. "I've heard it all working here, so what is your goal?"

"Well I want to bulk up," Steve felt self conscious as Bruce's eyes ran up and down the expanse of his body. Stepping back a step, Steve moved his body slightly behind Tony's so as to hide his skinny frame against the much rounder body. "Be healthy and such."

Bruce cocked one of his eyebrows at the "_and such"_ aspect of Steve's statement. "There are many ways to be healthy, my friend. And how about you, Tony, since when did you start wanting to get into shape?" Leaning heavily against the counter, Bruce glanced between the pair who appeared to be completely out of their element in the healthy fitness category. Where Tony knew what amino acids were and what protein did to the human body, the dark haired teen wasn't sure what Steve was privy on as he didn't remember ever having a class with the blonde. He knew of him surely, like most students did, because of his reputation for getting into fights at school and getting his ass handed to him every time. The fact that his friend was associating himself with the trouble maker unsettled Bruce greatly.

"It's his idea, really." Tony shrugged his shoulders. Moving from his place in front of Steve to lean against the counter, the younger teen noticed how nervous Steve looked behind him. "Mom and dad are out of town again this summer—"

"—they left you alone again?" Bruce interjected, his annoyance with Tony's irresponsible parents growing tenfold. "If it weren't that you were leaving for college next year, I would continue to remind you that you could always turn them into children services."

Just like Tony noticed Steve's uneasiness, the blonde instantly recognized the flash of panic that sparked behind Tony's eyes as his head turned to plead with Bruce to keep his mouth shut. Steve had a suspicion that there was something going on in Stark household and Tony's reaction confirmed his curiosity. "Why are we talking about my parents? We're here learn, Brucey!"

The athlete made a face at the name Tony bestowed on him. "Well, Tony, if you just work out you'll be fine. Cut out the unnecessary junk food. As for you Steve, I would recommend a high protein diet." Moving around the counter to the main floor of the store, Bruce walked up and down the aisles before settling before a few products that had the two teens wondering what he was about to pull off the shelf.

"We were also going to try out for the football team." Steve added lamely before ducking his head to avoid the pointed look the dark haired teen threw his way. There was the "_and such_".

Bruce's eyes looked at the two from the corner of his eye sockets, his brain running a mile an hour trying to picture what the two would look like at the end of the summer and if they would be ready to try out for something as insane as a contact sport. Believing fully that this was Steve's idea, and even though he had a large frame under his lack of muscle Bruce believed that with a lot of work he could look like the rest of the jocks from their school. Depending upon if he was any good would tell if he would make the team, but they would cross that bridge when they got there. Making a mental note to text Tony later that evening about the openings on the soccer team Bruce fished through the boxes on the shelves. "Here we go." He handed over the two boxes to the two teens who took them with care.

"What is this?" Steve asked as the description on the back of the black and red box made no sense to him where as Tony seemed content with reading what the small print had to say.

"This is probably our best seller; Meg Men, the Sport series. It's a vita-pak regiment that will boost your metabolism, give you plenty of energy—as you two look tired as hell right now—and your body's natural thermogenesis."

"Thermogenesis?" Poor Steve looked really confused as he took Biology his freshman year and barely passed because of their Arabic descent teacher's inability to speak understandable English. Standing between their schools two smartest people was really unsettling to the blonde as every time they shared a look he felt his IQ drop slightly.

"It's the production of heat, in this case by the cells in our body, Steve." Tony offered, his eyes still skimming over the box. "It makes sense really, the amount of energy we are going to be burning will be converted into heat rather than stored fat; really good news for me." Turning the box over in his hands, Tony looked up to Bruce who had an appreciative smile on his face that said that he was pleased he didn't have to explain everything to a customer for once.

"I take this myself, and usually down them all in the morning with breakfast. Early morning is the best recommended time to take them, but when ever is really fine. If you're not accustomed to taking large pills, you can break it up through the day. There's a 30-day supply in there, and it's on sale. Follow me." Grabbing the additional box so they could take advantage of the sale, the two boys followed behind Bruce who moved around to the end of the isle where a built in shelf stood nearly ceiling high with many different tubs of different substances in them. Pulling a ladder over, he climbed up a few steps so he could get a better vantage point face to face with the products. Watching the teen climb up the few steps, Steve's eyes zeroed in on the slight bulge of the teen's muscles. Bruce wasn't large by his standards, but he wasn't wimpy looking either especially the way his biceps bugled with the force necessary to hoist himself up. Steve could stop the pang of jealousy that rippled through him. "What flavors do you two like?"

"Flavors?" Steve offered, clearly confused as to what the teen was referring to.

"I have strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate—those are the traditional flavors, but if you want something different I also have fruit punch, lemonade, cookies and cream, banana, and citrus. I usually stick with the traditional flavors as mixing milk isn't necessarily the most pleasant taste with the others but it's your decision. Also know you can use water for this too, but you'll get more protein for muscle reconstruction with the milk." Pulling down the pair's respective flavors, Bruce handed them to the teens and reached for a pair of blender bottles. He handed the red one to Tony and the Blue one to Steve.

"I want to lose weight, Bruce, not gain more." Tony's eyes skimmed over the back of the container again, slightly annoyed that Bruce was handing him something that could potentially make him gain weight.

"Well if you use water with yours and only take a third to half the serving size you should be fine. For you Steve you can use milk and take the full serving size." Handing the teen an additional container, the dark haired employee had to contain a chuckle as he floundered to balance all the items in his lanky arms.

The remainder trip around the store filled their arms with performance enhancers for energy, protein bars and meal replacement packages for on-the-go dieting, water bottles for hydration and multiple other items. Since they were the only three in the small store, the two teens took to dropping off the items on the counter while Bruce started to ring the things in. Steve offered fourth a few twenties to help pay, with promises to repay Tony, but after a small squabble over who was paying Steve ended up pocketing his hard earned money back into his wallet. Tony's shiny credit card lay on the counter and Steve had to wonder how nice it would be to have his parents pay for everything he could ever want, even though he was sure the only reason they allowed their son to spend so much money was because how often they were away from him.

Steve would rather the company of his mother over the money any day.

"Bruce, what's this?" Tony called as he had taken to wandering over to a section of the store to the left of the register that they hadn't bothered to look at earlier.

"Dietary supplements, Tony, and no I don't think you should take those. On the box it even says the recommended age to start taking that crap is eighteen, and if I remember correctly your sixteenth birthday is coming up in two months." Going back to scanning each item and adding the additional discounts for all the things they bought, Bruce moved to place some of the already scanned items into a plastic shopping bag.

Steve frowned as he moved to stand behind Tony who was looking at all the brands behind the Plexiglas. "My cousin took that Hydroxi-Cut once and it didn't work. Come on, you don't need those to help you, you've got me." Placing his hand on Tony's shoulder and steering him back towards the counter, Steve made sure to block the teens escape to go back and look. Bruce appreciated Steve's persistency at keeping Tony away from those supplements.

"Are you two going to Pepper's pool part this weekend?" Bruce asked suddenly as he finished packing away all the items and completely checking his two classmates out. "I heard it was going to be another pool party."

"I wasn't planning on it." Tony mumbled, his finger mindlessly rubbing the smooth plastic of one of the bags.

"She's your girlfriend; won't she be upset that you're not going?" Bruce handed back Tony's credit card and watched with a critical eye as he slipped it back into the safety of his wallet. Tony shrugged and looked up at Steve, pleading for them to suddenly leave. "What has been going on with you two lately?"

Steve starred back at Tony with a confused expression wondering how Tony, the typical chubby high school nerd, was able to hook up with one of the hottest looking girls in the whole school and he didn't know about it. Thinking back, he had seen the two talking a lot in the halls between classes but he could also remember her being all over other guys in the auditorium. Surely as smart as Tony was, he had to have known she was cheating, but maybe he was blind to it…

"She's cheating on me with Rhodey." He mumbled quietly only so the other two could hear it. "I caught them the last day of school, though I'm pretty sure they didn't see me as I booked it out of the gymnasium and ran right into Bobby-D and his goon squad of mindless followers—hence the concussion." Pointing to his head, he rubbed the sore spot lightly with his finger before moving his hand back down to rest at his side.

"They beat you up again? Did you at least tell a teacher?"

"I did," Steve volunteered.

Bruce sighed. "Well, it looks like we're just going to have to find you a new lady friend—and you too Steve. I'll swing by your place around noon and the three of us can all drive over together. It'll be fun." Tony was puzzled, wondering how a fellow nerd could think a hormone infested high school pool party could be any sorts of fun. While Steve seemed to agree with the idea, Tony brought his hand up to rub lightly at his temples already feeling an immense headache coming on. He was positive there was going to be alcohol, and the last time he and Bruce went drinking things didn't end quiet so well.

A-V-E-N-G-E-R-S


End file.
